Liquid metal-based powder materials including oxide, composites including same, and methods of forming same

ABSTRACT

Liquid metal-based powder materials may include oxides. More specifically, the liquid metal-based powder materials may include a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material. Each of the plurality of particles may have a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide. More specifically, each of the plurality of particles may include a core portion including the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material, and oxide. Additionally, each of the plurality of particles may also include an outer portion surrounding the core portion. The outer portion may be formed as an oxide film. Furthermore, each of the plurality of particles may also include a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed within the core portion, and included in the combination of liquid metal, dopant material, and oxide.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 63/084,332 filed on Sep. 28, 2020, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates generally to liquid metal-based materials or compositions including oxides, and more particularly, to liquid metal-based powder materials including oxide, composites including liquid metal-based powder material having oxide, and methods of forming the same powder materials.

Liquid metal (LM) filled soft composites are emerging multifunctional composites with promising applications as rigidity-tuning materials, shape memory composites, thermal management materials, etc. However, supercooling of the LM particles becomes a critical issue because it impedes the thermomechanical performance and functions of these composites.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the disclosure provides a powder material including: a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material, each of the plurality of particles having a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide.

A second aspect of the disclosure provides a method of forming a powder material. The method including: performing a first sonication process on a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material to form a preliminary powder material; merging the preliminary powder material to form a preliminary liquid material; and performing a second sonication process on the preliminary liquid material to generate a final powder material, the final powder material including plurality of particles formed from the preliminary liquid material, wherein each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material include a predetermined size and have a composition that includes oxide.

A third aspect of the disclosure provides a composite material including: a flexible material; and a powder material mixed with the flexible material, the powder material including: a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material, each of the plurality of particles having a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide.

The illustrative aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solve the problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this disclosure will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the disclosure, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative top view of a powder material including a plurality of particles, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative top view of a composite material formed from a flexible material and the powder material of FIG. 1, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative top view of a powder material including a plurality of particles including nanoparticles formed therein, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating a process for forming a powder material including a plurality of materials, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5-8 show illustrative top views of various materials undergoing processes for forming a powder material including a plurality of particles, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

It is noted that the drawings of the disclosure are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As an initial matter, in order to clearly describe the current disclosure it will become necessary to select certain terminology when referring to and describing relevant components within the disclosure. When doing this, if possible, common industry terminology will be used and employed in a manner consistent with its accepted meaning. Unless otherwise stated, such terminology should be given a broad interpretation consistent with the context of the present application and the scope of the appended claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that often a particular component may be referred to using several different or overlapping terms. What may be described herein as being a single part may include and be referenced in another context as consisting of multiple components. Alternatively, what may be described herein as including multiple components may be referred to elsewhere as a single part.

As discussed herein, the disclosure relates generally to liquid metal-based materials or compositions including oxides, and more particularly, to liquid metal-based powder materials including oxide, composites including liquid metal-based powder material having oxide, and methods of forming the same powder materials.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 1-8. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these Figures is for explanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

Turning to FIG. 1 a powder material 100 is shown. As shown in FIG. 1 powder material 100 may include a plurality of particles 102. Each of the plurality of particles 102 may be compositionally similar and/or may include substantially similar compositions. In a non-limiting example, each of the plurality of particles 102 of powder material 100 may be formed from and/or may include a liquid metal 104 and a dopant material 106. That is, a base material and/or base composition of powder material 100 may include a combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106. The combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 may be, for example, homogeneously mixed and/or combined. In the non-limiting example shown in FIG. 1, liquid metal 104 may be formed from and/or may include any suitable metal or metal alloy that may be in liquid state when heated up to approximately 18 degrees Celsius (° C.) and 25 degrees ° C. (e.g., room temperature), and more specifically, a temperature near approximately 20 degrees ° C. For example, liquid metal 104 may be formed from Field's metal (BiInSn), gallium (Ga), or a gallium-based metal alloy. In other non-limiting examples, liquid metal 104 may be formed from any suitable liquid metal/alloys, or fusible metal/alloys, including but not limited to, eutectic alloys. Dopant material 106 may be formed from any suitable material capable of doping liquid metal 104. For example, dopant material 106 may be formed from zinc, copper, silver, and the like. In a non-limiting example, the alloy formed from liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 may be a combination—BiInSnZn.

As shown in FIG. 1, and discussed herein, powder material 100 may also include oxide formed therein/thereon, and/or may include a composition that includes oxide. Turning to the insert of FIG. 1, An enlarged view of a single particle 102 of powder material 100 is shown. In the non-limiting example, particle 102 may include core portion 108, and an outer portion 110 surrounding core portion 108. Core portion 108 may include the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106. Additionally core portion 108 may include oxide 112. As shown in the insert of FIG. 1, oxide 112 may be dispersed, distributed, suspended, and/or formed within the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 of core portion 108. As discussed herein, oxide 112 may be dispersed throughout core portion 108 and/or formed within the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 of core portion 108 as a result of performing sonication processes.

Additionally as shown in the insert FIG. 1, each of the plurality of particles 102 of powder material 100 may include oxide 112 in outer portion 110 surrounding core portion 108. More specifically, outer portion 110 may be formed as an oxide film 118 that may substantially surround and/or encompass core portion 108 including liquid metal 104, dopant material 106, and oxide 112. As discussed herein, outer portion 110, formed from oxide 112 and/or oxide film 118, may be formed as a result of performing sonication processes. Additionally, and as discussed herein, the amount of oxide 112 present, dispersed, and/or included in core portion 108 and/or outer portion 110 may be a predetermined or desired amount of oxide 112 by percentage of weight or percentage of composition. Furthermore, oxide 112 included in each of the plurality of particles 102 may be and/or may form heterogeneous nucleation sites within particles 102 of powder material 100. As discussed herein, the inclusion Pandora formation of oxide 112 within particles 102 may substantially suppress supercooling effects for powder material 100.

Each of the plurality of particles 102 may include a predetermined size(s). In a non-limiting example, each of the plurality of particles 102 of powder material 100 may have a predetermined size (e.g., diameter) between approximately five (5) microns (μm) and approximately 50 μm. More specifically, each of the plurality of particles 102 may have a predetermined size between approximately 10 μm and 25 μm. As discussed herein, the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles 102 of powder material 100 may be determined by and/or may be substantially controlled, at least in part, by sonication processes performed on the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106.

Turning to FIG. 2, a composite material 120 is shown. In a non-limiting example, composite material 120 may include a flexible material 122 and powder material 100. More specifically, composite material 120 may include and/or may be formed from a mixture of flexible material 122 and the plurality of particles 102 of powder material 100, where each of the plurality of particles 102 include oxide 112/oxide film 118 (see, FIG. 1). Flexible material 122 of composite material 120 may be formed from and/or may include any suitable material that may be substantially flexible and/or include elastic properties. For example, flexible material 122 may include polymer material (e.g., rubber), silicone material, and/or silicone-based material (e.g., Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)). Powder material 100 may be mixed with flexible material 122 to form composition material 120 based on a predetermined volume percentage and/or weight percentage. For example, composite material 120 may be formed of approximately 10% to approximately 40% of powder material 100. As a result of the suppressed supercooling properties of powder material 100, composite material 120, including powder material 100, may also have suppressed supercooling properties and/or characteristics.

FIG. 3 shows another non-limiting example of powder material 100 including plurality of particles 102. It is understood that similarly numbered and/or named components may function in a substantially similar fashion. Redundant explanation of these components has been omitted for clarity.

As shown in the non-limiting example, each of the plurality of particles 102 may include a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles 124. The plurality of supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be formed within core portion 108 of each of the plurality of particles 102. More specifically, and as shown in FIG. 3, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be dispersed, distributed, suspended, and/or formed within the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 of core portion 108. As discussed herein, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be dispersed throughout core portion 108 and/or formed within the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 of core portion 108 as a result of performing sonication processes. Additionally as discussed herein, the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be included within the combination of the liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 prior to performing the sonication processes thereon. That is, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be included within dopant material 106 that may dope liquid metal 104, or alternatively, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may separately dope liquid metal 104 prior to performing sonication processes on the combination (e.g., liquid metal 104, dopant material 106, nanoparticles 124).

The inclusion of supplemental nanoparticles 124 within each of the plurality of particles 102 may alter characteristics and/or properties of particles 102 forming powder material 100. For example, the inclusion of supplemental nanoparticles 124 within each of the plurality of particles 102 may alter, adjust, and/or change (e.g., increase, decrease) the density or density characteristics of the plurality of particles 102, heat capacity characteristics of the plurality of particles 102, thermal conductivity of the plurality of particles 102, electrical conductivity of the plurality of particles 102, and/or the magnetic properties of the plurality of particles 102. The characteristics and/or properties of particles 102 that may be altered may be dependent, at least in part, on the material and/or composition of supplemental nanoparticles 124 included and/or formed within particles 102. For example, to reduce the density of particles 102 forming powder material 100, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be formed from and/or formed as ceramic or ceramic-based nanoparticles (e.g., silica (SiO₂) that may be added to and/or included in the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106. To alter (e.g., increase, decrease) heat capacity characteristics, thermal conductivity, and/or electrical conductivity, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be formed from and/or as metal or metal-alloy nanoparticles that may be added to and/or included in the combination of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106. In these examples, supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be formed from, but not limited to, copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), tungsten (W), and any other suitable metal material having similar heat capacity/thermal conductivity/electrical conductivity characteristics. Furthermore, magnetic properties of the plurality of particles 102 may be altered when supplemental nanoparticles 124 may be formed from/as, for example, ferromagnetic materials. One example of ferromagnetic materials for supplemental nanoparticles 124 that may alter magnetic properties includes iron (Fe).

It is understood that the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles 124 included in each of the plurality of particles 102 may include or be formed from a single material, or alternatively may be formed from at least two distinct materials. Where the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles 124 are formed from a plurality of distinct materials, multiple characteristics and/or properties of particles 102 forming powder material 100 may be altered. For example, the plurality of nanoparticles 124 formed in each of the plurality of particles 102 may include a first portion formed from silica material, and a second portion formed from copper. In this example, supplemental nanoparticles 124 formed from both silica material and copper may both reduce the density of each of the plurality of particles 102 and increase electrical conductivity in particles 102.

FIG. 4 depicts example processes for forming a powder material. More specifically, FIG. 4 depicts a non-limiting example of processes for forming a powder material having a plurality of particles that include oxide formed therein/thereon. The powder material formed in these processes may be substantially similar to powder material 100 shown and discussed herein with respect to FIG. 1.

In process P1, a first sonication process may be performed on a liquid metal and dopant material. More specifically, a first sonication process may be performed on a homogenous combination of a liquid metal and dopant material to form a preliminary powder material. The preliminary powder material formed from the first sonication process may include a plurality of preliminary particles. The first sonication process may be performed by submerging the homogeneous combination of liquid metal and dopant material into a solvent, for example an ethanol bath. The solvent and homogenous combination are subsequently heated and exposing to an ultrasonic wave or energy. The ultrasonic wave or energy emitted and/or provided to the solvent and homogeneous combination may include predetermined operational parameters, including, but not limited to, exposure time and amplitude size/intensity. The predetermined operational parameters of the ultrasonic wave or energy may also determine the size of each of the plurality of preliminary particles for the preliminary powder material. In a non-limiting example, each of the plurality of preliminary particles for the preliminary powder material may include a size of approximately one (1) micron (μm) to approximately 50 μm. In other non-limiting examples, the first sonication of process P1 may be performed on a combination of liquid metal, dopant material, and a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles. In this example, the liquid metal, the dopant material, and the supplemental nanoparticles may undergo the first sonication process to form the preliminary powder material.

Additionally, the performing of the first sonication process may also include forming a preliminary oxide film around a preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material. The preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles may include a combination of the liquid material and the dopant material. In other non-limiting examples where the combination undergoing the first sonication process includes liquid metal, dopant material, and a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles, forming the preliminary oxide film may also include forming the preliminary oxide film around a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles. In this non-limiting, the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles may be formed within the preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material.

In process P2 (shown in phantom as optional), the preliminary powder material may be filtered and/or dried. More specifically, the preliminary powder material may be filtered to remove preliminary particles having a size larger than a predetermined and/or desired size (e.g., 1-5 μm) for the preliminary particles formed in process P1. Additionally, or alternatively, the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material may be dried prior to subsequent processing as discussed herein (e.g., process P3).

In process P3, the preliminary powder material is merged to form a preliminary liquid material. That is, the preliminary powder material undergoes a process to liquefy the powder material into a preliminary liquid material. In a non-limiting example, the merging in process P3 may include heating the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material. Heating the plurality of preliminary particles may result in the breaking, segmenting, and/or separating of the preliminary oxide film formed around the preliminary core portion in each of the plurality of preliminary particles. The broken, segmented, and/or separated preliminary oxide film(s) may then be dispersed, distributed, and/or suspended in preliminary liquid material. For example, as the plurality of preliminary particles are converted and/or merged to form the preliminary liquid material, the broken preliminary oxide film may be dispersed, distributed, absorbed, suspended, and/or included within and/or positioned throughout the preliminary liquid material.

In a non-limiting example, and as shown in phantom as optional, Processes P1-P3 may be performed more than once prior to performing P4. That is, process P1-P3 may be performed a single time, or alternatively may be performed a plurality of times before performing process P4. In the non-limiting example where processes P1-P3 are performed a plurality of times, additional oxide may be added to, generated, created, and/or included within the preliminary liquid material (e.g., process P3). That is, each time processes P1-P3 are performed, more oxides may be generated and/or accumulated in the core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles. As such, the amount of oxide present in each preliminary particle may be determined and/or defined by, at least in part, the number of times processes P1-P3 are performed. Furthermore, each time process P1 is performed, operational parameters may be identical or alternatively may be different than the prior performance of the first sonication process. As discussed herein, the predetermined size of the particles may be dependent upon, at least in part, the operational parameters of the sonication process. In a non-limiting example where the preliminary particles' size is between approximately 5 microns and 10 microns, process P1-P3 may be performed a plurality of times to ensure the preliminary particles, and ultimately the preliminary liquid material, includes a predetermined and/or desired amount of oxide before proceeding to process P4.

Furthermore, and in the non-limiting example where the combination of liquid metal, dopant material, and a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles may undergo the first sonication process, it is understood that the supplemental nanoparticles may be included with liquid metal/dopant material before performing the first sonication process (e.g., process P1) and/or may be added before performing the first sonication process (e.g., process P1) a subsequent time, where processes P1-P3 are performed a plurality of times. In a non-limiting example where the supplemental nanoparticles are included prior to performing process P1 a second/subsequent time, the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles may be included in the preliminary liquid material formed in process P3. Additionally in another non-limiting example, the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles may be included in the preliminary liquid material including liquid metal, dopant material, and oxide, prior to performing process P4, as discussed herein.

In process P4, a second sonication process may be performed on the preliminary liquid material. More specifically, a second sonication process may be performed on the combination of liquid metal, dopant material, and oxide (and where applicable, supplemental nanoparticles) to form a final powder material. Similar to the preliminary powder material, the final powder material formed from the second sonication process may include a plurality of particles. The plurality of particles of the final powder material may include a core portion formed as or from liquid metal, dopant material, and oxide. In a non-limiting example, the oxide in the core portion of the plurality of particles forming the final powder material may include the preliminary oxide film that is broken and dispersed in process P3. In other non-limiting examples where the initial combination and/or the preliminary liquid material includes supplemental nanoparticles therein, each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material may also include the supplemental nanoparticles within the core portion—along with liquid metal, dopant material, and oxide, as discussed herein. Additionally, each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material may include an outer portion surrounding the core portion. The outer portion may include an oxide film. As discussed herein, the predetermined operational parameters of the ultrasonic wave or energy emitted during the second sonication process may determine the size of each of the plurality of particles for the final powder material. In a non-limiting example, each of the plurality of particles for the final powder material may include a size of approximately 5 microns (μm) to approximately 25 microns. As such, the operational parameters for the second sonication process performed in process P4 may be distinct form the operational parameters of the first sonication process performed in process P1. That is, the first sonication process may be performed in process P1 under a first set of operational parameters, while the second sonication process may be performed in process P4 under a second set of operational parameters, distinct from the first set of operational parameters.

In process P5 (shown in phantom as optional), the final powder material may be filtered and/or dried. More specifically, the final powder material may be filtered to remove particles having a size larger than a predetermined and/or desired size (e.g., 5-25 μm) for the particles formed in process P4. Additionally, or alternatively, the plurality of particles of the final powder material may be dried prior to subsequent processing as discussed herein (e.g., process P6). In a non-limiting example, the plurality of particles of the final powder material may be air-dried in process P5.

In process P6, the final powder material is mixed with a flexible material. More specifically, the final powder material is mixed with a flexible material to form a composite material. The flexible material may include, for example, a polymer material, a silicon, and/or silicone-based material. As discussed herein, the inclusion and/or mixing of the final powder material, having suppressed supercooling properties, with the flexible material may result in the composite material also having suppressed supercooling properties.

FIGS. 5-8 show a non-limiting example of various materials undergoing processes for forming powder material 100 (see, FIG. 8). As discussed herein, the processes performed on the various materials of FIGS. 5-8 for forming powder material 100 of FIG. 8 may be substantially similar to processes P1-P6 discussed herein with respect to FIG. 4. It is understood that similarly numbered and/or named components may function in a substantially similar fashion. Redundant explanation of these components has been omitted for clarity.

FIG. 5 shows a homogenous mixture of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 prior to performing a first sonication process. Additionally, and in other non-limiting examples, the homogenous mixture shown in FIG. 5 may also include a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles included with liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106. FIG. 6 shows a preliminary powder material 130 including a plurality of preliminary particles 132. Preliminary powder material 130, and more specifically the plurality of preliminary particles 132, may be formed after performing a first sonication process (e.g., process P1) on the homogenous mixture of liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 (and where applicable, supplemental nanoparticles 124) shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, each of the plurality of preliminary particles 132 may include a preliminary core portion 134 and a preliminary oxide film 136 surrounding core portion 134. Core portion 134 of each preliminary particle 132 may include and/or be formed from liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106. Furthermore, where the homogenous mixture also includes supplemental nanoparticles 124, core portion 134 of each preliminary particle 132 may also include supplemental nanoparticles 124 (shown in phantom, as optional). As shown, each of the plurality of preliminary particles 132 of preliminary powder material 130 may include a first predetermined size (S1). In non-limiting examples, the first predetermined size of the plurality of preliminary particles 132 may be between approximately one (1) micron (μm) to 10 μm.

FIG. 7 shows a preliminary liquid material 138. Preliminary liquid material 138 may include or be formed as a heterogenous mixture of liquid metal 104, dopant material 106, and oxide 112. Alternatively, and where applicable, the heterogenous mixture of liquid metal 104, dopant material 106, and oxide 112 forming preliminary liquid material 138 may also include a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles 124 as well. In a non-limiting example, preliminary liquid material 138 may be formed from preliminary powder material 130, as shown in FIG. 6, by merging the plurality of preliminary particles 132 (e.g., process P3). Merging the plurality of preliminary particles 132 may be accomplished by, for example, melting each of the plurality of preliminary particles 132, breaking the preliminary oxide film 136 in each of the plurality of preliminary particles 132, and subsequently dispersing, distributing, and/or combining the broken, preliminary oxide film 136 with the newly liquified liquid metal 104 and dopant material 106 (and where applicable, supplemental nanoparticles 124) forming preliminary liquid material 138. In the non-limiting example shown in FIG. 7, oxide 112 may represent and/or be formed by the broken, preliminary oxide film 136.

FIG. 8 shows a final powder material 100 including a plurality of particles 102. Final powder material 100, and more specifically the plurality of particles 102, may be formed after performing a second sonication process (e.g., process P4) on preliminary liquid material 106 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 8, each of the plurality of particles 102 may include core portion 108 and outer portion 110 surrounding core portion 108. Core portion 108 of each particle 102 may include and/or be formed from liquid metal 104, dopant material 106, and oxide 112. Oxide 112 in core portion 108 of the plurality of particles 102 forming final powder material 100 may include the preliminary oxide film 136 that is broken and dispersed when merging preliminary particles 132 (see, e.g., FIG. 7). Furthermore, where preliminary liquid material 138 also includes supplemental nanoparticles 124 (see, e.g., FIG. 7), core portion 134 of each preliminary particle 132 may also include supplemental nanoparticles 124 (shown in phantom, as optional). As similarly discussed herein, outer portion 110 may be formed as an oxide film 118. Each of the plurality of particles 102 of powder material 100 may include a second predetermined size (S2). In non-limiting examples, the second predetermined size of the plurality of particles 102 may be between approximately five (5) microns (μm) to 25 μm.

Final powder material 100 shown in FIG. 8 may be subsequently mixed with a flexible material, as similarly discussed herein with respect to process P6 of FIG. 4. The mixing of final powder material 100 including the plurality of particles 102 with a flexible material (e.g., flexible material 122) may form a composite material similar composite material 120 shown and discussed herein with respect to FIG. 2.

It is understood that the number of particles and/or the number of oxides included within each particle is illustrative. As such, each powder material may include more or less particles than shown, and/or each particle may include more or less oxide than shown.

Additionally, although discussed herein as forming oxide in the various particles, powder materials, and liquid materials via sonication and/or merging (e.g., heating), it is understood that oxide material may be added to the various particles, powder materials, and/or liquid materials using other deposition processes. That is, additionally, or alternatively, oxide may be added, dispersed, distributed, and/or combined with the particles, powder materials, and/or liquid materials using processes or techniques other than sonication and/or merging. For example, independent oxide may be added to and/or combined with preliminary liquid material 138 of FIG. 7 using suitable oxide deposition and mixing techniques. As such, the amount of oxide included in the particles, powder materials, and/or liquid materials that may be generated by sonication/merging processes, may be supplemented by an oxide deposition process to increase the amount of oxide included therein.

The foregoing drawings show some of the processing associated according to several embodiments of this disclosure. In this regard, each drawing or block within a flow diagram of the drawings represents a process associated with embodiments of the method described. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the acts noted in the drawings or blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figure or, for example, may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or in the reverse order, depending upon the act involved. Also, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional blocks that describe the processing may be added.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. “Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not.

Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about,” “approximately” and “substantially,” are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/or interchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise. “Approximately” as applied to a particular value of a range applies to both values, and unless otherwise dependent on the precision of the instrument measuring the value, may indicate +/−10% of the stated value(s).

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A powder material comprising: a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material, each of the plurality of particles having a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide.
 2. The powder material of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of particles further includes: a core portion including: the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material, and the oxide; and an outer portion surrounding the core portion, the outer portion formed as an oxide film.
 3. The powder material of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of particles further comprises a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed within the core portion, the plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed form a material that alters at least one of: density characteristics of the plurality of particles, heat capacity characteristics of the plurality of particles, thermal conductivity of the plurality of particles, electrical conductivity of the plurality of particles, or magnetic properties of the plurality of particles.
 4. The powder material of claim 1, wherein the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles is between approximately 5 microns and 50 microns.
 5. The powder material of claim 3, wherein the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles is between approximately 8 microns and 25 microns.
 6. The powder material of claim 1, wherein the liquid metal is one of the metal or the metal alloy that is in the liquid state at a temperature near approximately 18 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius.
 7. The powder material of claim 1, wherein the liquid metal is selected from the group consisting of: Field's metal (BiInSn), gallium (Ga) metal, and gallium (Ga) based metal alloys.
 8. The powder material of claim 1, wherein the dopant material is selected from the group consisting of: zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and Silver (Ag).
 9. A method of forming a powder material, the method comprising: performing a first sonication process on a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material to form a preliminary powder material; merging the preliminary powder material to form a preliminary liquid material; and performing a second sonication process on the preliminary liquid material to generate a final powder material, the final powder material including plurality of particles formed from the preliminary liquid material, wherein each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material include a predetermined size and have a composition that includes oxide.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the preliminary powder material includes a plurality of preliminary particles.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein performing the first sonication process further includes: forming a preliminary oxide film around a preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material, the preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material including the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the preliminary oxide film further includes: forming the preliminary oxide film around a plurality of supplemental nanoparticles formed within the preliminary core portion of each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material, the supplemental nanoparticles included in the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material forming the preliminary powder material.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material include a predetermined size that is distinct from the predetermined size of each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein merging the preliminary powder material further includes: melting the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material; breaking the formed, preliminary oxide film in each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material; and dispersing the broken, preliminary oxide film in each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material within the formed preliminary liquid material.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein performing the second sonication process further includes: forming an oxide film around a core portion of each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material, the core portion of each of the plurality of particles of the final powder material including: the combination of the liquid metal and the dopant material, and the oxide formed from the broken, preliminary oxide film in each of the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material.
 16. The method of claim 10, further comprising: filtering the preliminary powder material to remove preliminary particles having a size larger than a predetermined size of the plurality of preliminary particles; and drying the plurality of preliminary particles of the preliminary powder material prior to merging the preliminary powder material to form the preliminary liquid material.
 17. The method of claim 9, wherein the first sonication process includes a first set of operational parameters and the second sonication process includes a second set of operational parameters, distinct from the first set of operational parameters.
 18. The method of claim 9, further comprising: mixing the final powder material with a flexible material to form a composite, the flexible material includes at least one a polymer material or a silicone-based material.
 19. A composite material comprising: a flexible material; and a powder material mixed with the flexible material, the powder material including: a plurality of particles formed from a combination of a liquid metal and a dopant material, each of the plurality of particles having a predetermined size and having a composition that includes oxide.
 20. The composite material of claim 19, wherein the flexible material includes at least one a polymer material or a silicone-based material. 